With regard to the year 2010 -- for Neil Young -- it was the best of times and the worst of times.

The losses came fast and hard. Larry "L.A." Johnson... gone. Ben "Long Grain" Keith ... gone. Daniel Lanois... seriously injured in a motorcycle crash. The beloved and cherished LincVolt ... severely damaged in a fire. Even Neil's longtime companion -- his dog Carl ... passed on to the great doghouse in the sky.

Just when it seemed like things couldn't get worse for Neil, they did. Our hearts go out to him and Pegi, his crew, his family and friends.

And yet. 2010 was also a year of spectacular achievements and recognition for Neil:

Honored As MusiCares Person Of The Year

Performed at Vancouver Olympics Closing Ceremonies

Won his First Grammy Award

Performed on the Final Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien

Played on the Twisted Road/Le Noise/Gigs for the Gulf Concert Tour

Released the critically acclaimed "Le Noise"

Hailed at the Triumphant Reunion of The Buffalo Springfield @ 2010 Bridge School Benefit Concerts

The man's resilience in the face of adversity and loss is both amazing and inspiring. Earlier -- when reviewing the Buffalo Springfield reunion -- we pondered the age old question of whether Neil is burning out or fading away? We argued that he is neither. Neil Young is the quintessential survivor.

As Lincvolt rises Phoenix-like from the ashes, she still lives. The spirit of Lincvolt will not be stopped. The reason for Lincvolt's existence is still right in front of us and even more important with each passing day. We continue to compromise the earth's fragile defenses by building cars that are spewing Greenhouse gases.

Lincvolt will be the same car with new configuration of components, re-invigorated for the long road ahead.

The editor of Broken Arrow magazine (published by the Neil Young Appreciation Society) Scott Sandie summed it best when reflecting on the year's losses and LincVolt's fire damage:

"Far from being dismayed by this setback, Neil has already stated his intention to repair and reconstruct the car and continue with the project. Neil Young's positivity in the face of personal loss and continued setbacks is an inspiration for us all. Nothing seems to get him down for long or stop him doing what he wants to do."

When my Mother passed away in 2006,we played "It's Only A Dream" & "When God Made Me" at her funeral.That's how much the man & his music means to me. 2010 will be an eventful year in Mr Young's life,but then again,it will be to us all. That he still follows his muse AND his heart is good enough for me.If there ever was an example of a living icon...Neil Young is IT! Le Noise rocks!!! nOISE ROCK

Wow - what a year for Neil - for the fans. Life can change dramatically in an instant, let alone in a year. I am thankful that despite all of the heartbreaking setbacks, 2010 will go down as a very triumphant and historic year in terms of the musical legacy still being built. Seriously - Thrasher has it all documented above right here. 'Le Noise' is like a seed planted firmly in the ground - Neil saying 'I'm still here and not only am I not cashing in or giving up, I'm reinventing myself AGAIN.' The show I saw in DC in May was an evening I'll remember forever - even though I know that Neil was just road testing the new material as he's always done. What a set list. Neil alone on stage giving his all - again.

Thanks to Thrasher a million times over for the work you do. Merry Christmas - and here's to a 2011 filled with more inspiring music - and hopefully another tour!!!

Don't forget that LincVolt was a beacon of light at the SEMA show in Las Vegas just days before the fire. She made an extremely positive statement with enthusiastic feedback. The dedication and achievements of the team were not lost in the fire. I guarantee you that LincVolt will be better than before....

Wow, it's pretty incredible when you see the whole year stacked up that way. An inspiration that Neil is still showing the way to stay active, stay interested, and most of all to stay caring. However, we would not have been able to appreciate it all nearly as much without Thrashers Wheat. For both things I am grateful.

Merry Christmas to everybody, and here's looking forward to 2011. May we all still run. God Bless.

Hard to believe that so much has happened in the space of one year! And what an emotional roller-coaster it`s been. Great triumphs for Neil but also so much sadness.

Yes, Neil truly is an inspiration the way he turns things around and never, ever gives up, but instead reaches out to new heights.

What a year for Thrasher and Thrashette too with the shock of the`Great Meltdown`, but in true Neil style Thrasher not only made the decision to continue but went on to take TW to a new, even better, level. Gone are the `trolls`, peace is restored. And we all know now that this site is endorsed by Neil himself as being `the best site on the net for this type of activity` , or words to that effect.

So thank you to Neil, thank-you to Thrasher and Thrashette, and Happy Holidays to us all!

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.--Charles Dickens from A Tale of Two Cities

I'm just trying to rememberThe Days of Wine and Roses.--Steve Wynn/The Dream Syndicate

I'm listening to some really exceptional live stuff from Neil today on Rust Radio. They just finished up with an epic concert from London back in 2002. The second set ended with a glorious stream of songs, including Cortez, Let's Roll, Powderfinger, Down By the River and All Along the Watchtower...then Neil finished up with Helpless as the encore. The man was in top form for this show (but isn't he pretty much always?!) and you could literally feel him cutting through the post September 11 malaise. Hope that some of you were also tuned in for this superb music experience...what a great way to start off the New Year! Now they have Greendale starting up and I'm remembering just how wonderful this was to hear live for the first time. Falling from Above seems to take on a whole new and even deeper meaning with the benefit of passing years.

When Neil was performing Cinnamon Girl during the London performance, it made me think of the great Dock Boggs. More than any other recorded artist, his music career was encapsulated by the years, with the same songs recorded when he was a young man and then when he was much, much older, looking back on his life and music but also giving everything he had to the moment. Listen to Dock perform Country Blues when it was recorded in the 1920's, then listen to him playing the same song almost forty years later. In many ways, this is the same when you hear Neil play Cinnamon Girl now (especially the solo electric versions) and then listen to it played with Danny forty years ago. Both times are perfect in their own completely unique ways. Hearing the 2002 version from London made me realize just how much Neil has continued to grow and evolve while walking his own true path. The London show was on May 21, which makes it eight years to the day from his show at The Hanover Theater...very cool indeed!

We said goodbye this week to a friend who passed away on Christmas Eve. My son played his first hockey playoff game as a Mite for Joe's team, and I can still vividly remember the (very) early morning game like it was yesterday...two goals plus an assist on the winning goal. I've lost many family and friends over the years, but it's never any easier for me or for anyone else...thankfully these relationships live on in our thoughts and memories. RIP Coach....

One more farewell to Larry and Ben...you guys were the absolute best and touched the lives of countless others. I know that Neil and crew will carry your memories in every note played, and that the torch is in very good hands.

So long to a couple guys from the local music scene. Ray Neades was a presence at many, many local shows and his remembrance night at The Beachcomber was truly memorable, with The Spaminato Brothers, Lard Zeppelin (with the amazing J. Mascis on drums) and The Cave Dogs reunion show giving Ray a sendoff for the ages. Billy Ruane was the Godfather of Music for anyone who's been to a show in Boston and Cambridge over the past quarter century, and a friend to pretty much every musician (e.g. Peter Wolf, Mary Lou Lord, Evan Dando, Chris Brokaw, Thalia Zadek, Julianna Hatfield, Tanya Donnelly, Jon Langford, Pat McGrath et al)...the music scene would have been very different without him. I wasn't able to make his birthday/memorial night show, which extended into multiple venues, but I was totally there in spirit.

A sad goodbye to Captain Beefheart...never was there more truth in the saying "If you have to ask then I can't tell you". Whether your reaction was shock and awe amazement or WTF bewilderment, no one who heard your music could ever forget it.

The world of Jazz lost a true artist and gentleman this past week with the passing of pianist, educator and humanitarian Billy Taylor. I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Taylor speak and play twice during the mid 70's when he participated in Black Experience in the Arts classes at University of Connecticut. Already a fan after watching him many times on the David Frost show, it was a wonderful thing to experience his excitement and joy in playing and talking about the music that he loved so much. And of course we lost the incomparable Les Paul...without him I probably wouldn't be talking about many of these superb musicians.

It was a truly great year for me in terms of hearing live music and participating in so much great discussion with my all of my friends at Thrashers Wheat. Thanks again to Thrasher and Thrashette for keeping on and just getting better and better. I saw so many great shows that I can't really go back to all of them. Some really memorable ones included Neil at Hanover Theater, David Hidalgo and Louie Perez at Tupelo Music Hall, the Come reunion show at TT's (one of only two shows in their "World Tour" with the other one being the Matador 21st Birthday Bash), all the great artists at Solid Sound Festival, Bert and Pegi at Johnny D's, The Stooges at House of Blues, Alberta Cross at Snow Barn, and the great shows at the new and improved Paradise (Black Mountain, Corin Tucker, Guided By Voices). Up in the mountains, Thursday nights had the incredible open mike nights at 302 West Smokehouse and Friday nights had wonderful music at Mae Kelly's Cottage with the great Dennis and Davies working their magic. Jeff Beck at House of Blues and John McLaughlin also at House of Blues...guitar heaven!

Alejandro Escovedo at The Middle East in yet another awesome show...Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3 at Church with a complete performance of Medicine Show, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the great second album by The Dream Syndicate. The Speaking Clock Revue was an entire season of music all in one show, with Elvis Costello, Greg Allman, Neko Case, Ralph Stanley, John Mellencamp and of course Elton and Leon. Also the great Sonny Rollins at Symphony Hall and the premiere of Trunk Show at Coolidge Corner...man, what a great, great year for music!!! And Patti Smith won the National Book Award for the incomparable Just Kids, one of the most touching and transcendent books that I have ever read in my entire life.

What a great job by Thrashers Wheat to review the last year with Neil and focus on all the incredible things that happened over the past year. It will be very interesting to look back on this year's accomplishments from future vantage points...I'm sure that we'll realize even more what an intense period of artistic vision and creation that Neil has had. May he have many more that are just as great!

And so I look back on 2010 with a large mix of sadness and great happiness. This coming year should be a great one as well, with Robert Plant at House of Blues, a Neil Young tribute at Carnegie Hall and a Mavis Staples/Billy Bragg tour...all in just the first three months of the year. I'm predicting that we'll see a reunion tour of Buffalo Springfield or Neil and Crazy Horse, maybe both in the same year and maybe even both together on the same tour...that would really be one for the ages!! God Bless and Keep on Rockin' in the Free World.

I want to get it through to youYou are not alone--Jeff Tweedy/Mavis Staples

A little love and affectionIn everything you doMakes the world a better placeWith or without you--Neil Young...Falling from Above